Hospitals in Khan Yunis Targeted by Israeli Forces, Reports of Rape Emerge
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has reported that two hospitals in the southern city of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip are currently facing heavy attacks by Israeli forces, as the occupying regime continues its aggressive actions in the besieged enclave.
In a statement on Sunday, PRCS stated that Israeli troops have raided the Nasser and al-Amal Hospitals, with military vehicles surrounding both medical complexes amid intense shelling and gunfire.
PRCS highlighted the perilous situation, stating that its teams are in extreme danger and completely immobilized.
🚨Urgent: Communication has been lost with the Palestine Red Crescent Society team at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis due to the VHF wireless communication wave going out of service. Note that various land and cellular communication means, as well as internet services, are still…
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) March 24, 2024
It noted that Israeli military vehicles are conducting extensive excavation work around al-Amal Hospital, which is currently surrounded.
The humanitarian organization also mentioned that one displaced person sheltering in al-Amal Hospital has been injured in the head, and smoke bombs were fired at the facility to force staff, wounded individuals, and displaced people out of the building.
According to PRCS, Israeli troops closed the gates of the hospital with barriers and ordered everyone inside to leave naked.
⭕This is how the Palestine Red Crescent teams in the operations room in #Gaza continue to communicate with our teams working at Al-Amal Hospital to get updates on the situation there. The occupation persists in besieging and targeting the hospital amid heavy gunfire and intense… pic.twitter.com/o4gOiULNHl
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) March 24, 2024
Earlier in the day, Amir Abu Aisha, a member of the PRCS emergency operations room, was killed by Israeli gunfire while working inside al-Amal Hospital, as per medical sources.
PRCS stated that its crews were unable to bury Abu Aisha’s body in the hospital’s backyard due to heavy gunfire.
Eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces also stormed various areas of Khan Yunis, causing deaths and injuries, while the regime’s military vehicles suddenly entered near the Nasser Medical Complex.
The latest escalation comes as the Israeli military continues to carry out air strikes and artillery shelling in and around al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City for the seventh consecutive day.
The Israeli entity has admitted to executing 140 people inside al-Shifa, including paramedics, patients, and wounded individuals, amidst an ongoing siege and mass arrests after seven days.
‘Israel’ Preventing Aid
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN’s Palestine refugee agency, has strongly criticized the Israeli regime’s decision to halt approval for aid convoys managed by UNRWA amidst widespread hunger and starvation in the Gaza Strip.
Lazzarini condemned the move as “outrageous” and accused Israel of intentionally obstructing lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine in Gaza. He emphasized the urgent need for these restrictions to be lifted, warning that they could worsen the humanitarian crisis and accelerate the onset of famine in northern Gaza.
Expressing grave concerns, Lazzarini highlighted the imminent threat of hunger and dehydration, which could result in the loss of many lives if immediate action is not taken.
📍# Gaza: as of today, @UNRWA, the main lifeline for #Palestine Refugees, is denied from providing lifesaving assistance to northern Gaza.
Despite the tragedy unfolding under our watch, the Israeli Authorities informed the UN that they will no longer approve any @UNRWA food… pic.twitter.com/lfp9xRQuh1
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) March 24, 2024
Israelis Raping Women
Jamila Al-Hisi, a Palestinian woman who witnessed the Israeli military raid on al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City last week, has shared harrowing experiences, revealing that Israeli soldiers are raping Palestinian women before killing them.
Al-Hisi, who was trapped in the medical complex during the siege and eventually managed to escape, recounted on Saturday that women have endured rape, starvation, torture, and extrajudicial execution. She criticized the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for its inaction.
According to Al-Hisi, Israeli troops have expelled 65 families from the area around the al-Shifa Medical Complex, burning and killing entire families. She described how a building where Palestinian civilians sought shelter was set on fire.
“We don’t even have water to break our fast, and we don’t know where to go,” Al-Hisi lamented, highlighting that the displaced individuals in the compound have not had access to food or water for six days.
The conflict in Gaza escalated on October 7 when the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood into the occupied territories in response to intensified Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
Since the beginning of the aggression, the Tel Aviv regime has reportedly killed at least 32,226 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured another 74,518 individuals. Israel has also imposed a complete siege on Gaza, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
